Eclectic Analysis - Jason Mraz "Plane"

Eclectic Analysis - Jason Mraz "Plane"

Historical Background:

For my first eclectic analysis, I will be using a song by Jason Mraz. The piece, "Plane" is the eighth track on his second studio album: Mr. A-Z released in July 2005. In this analysis, I will be using the multi-leveled eclectic method laid out by Dr. Lawrence Ferrara to explore the intricate piece. To begin, let's look at how Mr. Mraz go to where he is today. 

 

About the Artist: 

Jason Mraz hails from Mechanicsville, VA, where the singer/songwriter grew up amidst the sounds of the Dave Matthews Band and local roots musicians the Agents of Good Roots. However, it was Mraz's interest and participation in musical theater that served as his first introduction to music. Following high school, he moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, but dropped out a year later when he took up the guitar and began to focus on songwriting. Nonetheless, Mraz's training as a vocalist would later show itself on his debut album, which was marked by the pure clarity and range of his tenor range. After busking around New York, Mraz eventually returned to Virginia; in 1999, however, he made his way out West and settled in San Diego, CA, having been drawn to the city's coffeehouse scene and historical support of singer/songwriters, most notably Jewel. Mraz began playing shows and soon landed a weekly residency at the local hot spot Java Joe's, which had previously played host to Jewel during the early stages of her career. He also formed a duo with drummer Noel "Toca" Rivera, who accompanied Mraz's acoustic material by banging the djembe. Together, the musicians honed a live show that featured as much comedic banter as actual music. Over the next two years, Mraz's following expanded outside of the San Diego limits and began to encompass Los Angeles, garnering the attention of record labels. Mraz signed to Elektra Records in early 2002 and returned to Virginia to write and record his debut album, a project that saw him working with producer John Alagía (the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) and his high school heroes, the Agents of Good Roots, who became his backing band. The resulting effort, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, was released that same November, blending Mraz's early influences with elements of country, roots rock, and coffeehouse folk. The buoyant first single "Remedy (I Won't Worry)," which Mraz had co-written with pop hitmakers the Matrix, proved to be a big hit, and Mraz headed out on the road to support it. One of those shows, an October 2003 date at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, was later documented on Mraz's summer 2004 live release Tonight, Not Again. The album tided his fans over until July 2005, when the songwriter returned with the sophomore studio effort Mr. A-Z. Mraz's popularity reached a new high in 2008 with the release of We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, which peaked at number three and spawned his first chart-topping single, "I'm Yours." 

- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=499054&aid=1119958

About the Album:

Mr. A-Z is an album by Jason Mraz, released on July 26, 2005. It is the studio follow-up to his first studio album Waiting for My Rocket to Come, released in 2002. While panned by many critics, it was a moderate commercial success and debuted at #5 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart. It was nominated by the Recording Academy, for Best engineered album, and producer Steve Lillywhite, who previously worked with U2, Dave Matthews Band and The Rolling Stones, won for Producer of the Year for his work on Mr. A-Z.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._A–Z

Popular Culture in 2005:

It was a big year for sequels to films and the top three grossing films were Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Top best-selling albums of the year uncluded Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, 50 Cent's The Massacre, and Green Day's American Idiot.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005 

Open Listening:

The song opens with a piano playing, bells dinging, and the muffled voice of a captain speaking over a microphone on a plane. I assume it is Jason who is on this plane and reflecting about his trip. His voice in the beginning of the piece sounds distant and tired, there are also hints of remorse and regret. It is very ethereal sounding and as the song continues, it sort of sounds, just like the plane is taking off in the song, so is Jason, using his voice and the tones of the instruments. His soul gets more and more into his singing and in the end, static is all the audience can hear. It reminded me of a strong pop ballad that had many levels to it; with Jason not only using his voice to sing it but also, his soul.

Syntax:

Because I am not familiar with the appropriate syntactical language, I will do the best I can in analyzing the song's formal structure:

Length of Song - 5:14

The song's form is set up in the following way - Verse 1, Chorus A, Verse 2, Chorus A, Bridge, Verse 3, Chorus A, Outro. As the song begins the audience only hears piano, bells, and the muffled of a flight captain speaking over a loudspeaker to his passengers in a plane. Jason Mraz's voice is soft as the song starts and as the song continues, both his voice and the instruments crescendo and the decrescendo of and on throughout the lyrics. The instruments used in the song include a piano, bells, violins, drums, guitar, horns, and eventually noises of static.

Phenomenonology/Sound-in-Time:

0:00-0:15 

Piano and bells start playing and a captain's muffled voice starts speaking. As I said before, it seemed as if he was talking to the passengers before taking off, however, as I listen again I realize that he is actually speaking to ground control, asking if it's safe to take off. It is very delicate sounding.

0:16-1:16

As the first verse begins, Mr. Mraz sounds as if he has just woken up, singing in tone that is full of tiredness and sadness. The bells and piano keep playing as he is singing, but when he ends the first verse and gets into the chorus, at around 0:48, there is one hit of, what I am guessing, is a bass drum. This seems to represent the jolt one may receive from being on a plane, before it takes off. It then goes right back to Mr. Mraz singing softly, with the piano and bells backing him up.

1:16-2:20

The audience is now introduced to the sounds of violins as Mr. Mraz goes into the second verse. The bells and violins continue with the violins occasionally playing every 4 to 5 seconds. Also, with the beginning of the second verse, his voice and the instruments around him seem to crescendo, making it sound as if his voice is in charge of how loud or soft those instruments get. His voice also seems to get more echoey and dreamlike, as if he is in a different state of mind. The violins however join the bells and piano continuously as the second chorus begins, along with occasional sounds of the upright base in the background.

violins.

2:20-2:57

It is at this point of the song that a drum rolls for about 3 to 4 seconds and everything crescendos even more. This seems like the height of the song, representing both a lift off of the song and the plane represented. The drum roll represents the build of anticipation with a large rhythm change after, making it sound more heavy. Violins start to play both quick and slow along with the drums in full swing. Jason's voice during the bridge becomes extremely ethereal, and goes from almost dreamlike to ghostlike.

2:57-3:30

There is a sudden decrescendo in the instruments and voice as Mr. Mraz begins the second verse. Only piano and drums are playing, in which it sounds as if a clock is ticking in the background, representing the time that pass when on an airplane and the switching of time zones. The beat is steady and his voice seems to be more comforting than tired anymore. Around 3:20, he sings the words, "Here I'm tumbling, for you" in which his voice tumbles a little bit, representing that the plane that he is in on is "tumbling," or experiencing turbulence. Seven seconds later, at the end of the verse going into the final chorus, the sound of an electric guitar loudly stums in the background leading to another strong clashing of the instruments and a crescendo of both instruments and voice; another high point in the song.

3:30-4:16

At this point the final chorus starts and all the instruments come together in a final blasting crescendo. This represents both the song and plane being at full height in the sky. Jason Mraz's voice is at full power, filled with life and soul. It is almost as if he is trying to fill the room, in which the song is playing, with his voice, engulfing the room with his passion and message.

4:16-5:14

As the final chorus ends and the outro begins, horns sound as all other instruments keep playing at their loudest sound. Mr. Mraz starts to sing the words, "You keep me high, You keep me high minded" twice in a row, each time sounding as if the plane he is on is flying off into the distance, getting fainter and fainter. As the song comes to a close, the audience is left with the sounds of soft static.

Musical and Textual Representation:

(Verse 1) 

Drain the veins in my head

Clean out the reds in my eyes to get by security lines
Dear x-ray machine
Pretend you don't know me so well
I won't tell if you lied
Cry, cause your droughts been brought up
Drinkin' cause you're lookin so good in your starbucks cup
I complain for the company that I keep
The windows for sleeping rearrange
When I'm nobody
Well who's laughin now

(Chorus) 
I'm leaving your town, again
And I'm over the ground that you've been spinning
And I'm up in the air so baby hell yeah
Well honey I can see your house from here
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down, damn

(Verse 2) 
Damn, I should be so lucky
Even only 24 hours under your touch
You know I need you so much
I cannot wait to call you
And tell you that I landed somewhere
And hand you a square of the airport
And walk you through the maze of the map
That I'm gazing at
Gracefully unnamed and feeling guilty for the luck
And the look that you gave me
You make me somebody
Oh nobody knows me
Not even me can see it, yet I bet I'm

(Chorus) 
I'm leaving your town again
And I'm over the ground that you've been spinning
And I'm up in the air, so baby hell yeah
Oh honey I can see your house from here
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down, damn

(Bridge) 
You keep me high minded
You get me high

(Verse 3) 
Flax seeds, well they tear me open
And supposedly you can crawl right through me
Taste these teeth please
And undress me from the sweaters better hurry
Cause I'm heating upward bound now
Oh maybe I'll build my house on your cloud
Here I'm tumbling for you
Stumbling through the work that I have to do
Don't mean to harm you

(Chorus) 
By leaving your town again
But I'm over the quilt that you've been spinning
And I'm up in the air, said baby hell yeah
Oh honey I can see your house from here
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found
If the plane goes down, damn
Damn 
Damn
Damn, you

(Outro) 
You keep me high
You keep me high minded
You keep me high
You keep me high minded

Referential Analysis: 

The overall song, is about a 24 hours love story. Our protagonist, probably being Mr. Mraz himself, is getting on a plane after seeing the one he loves for one day. Their entire relationship is always saying goodbye and he sings, "If the plane goes down, I'll remember where the love was found..." saying that, if the plane goes down, he knows that he loved her. 

In the first verse, Jason Mraz talks about the process of getting on a plane. He is tired and needs coffee to get through the exhausting endeavor ("Drain the veins in my head, Clean out the reds in my eyes to get by security lines...Cry, cause your droughts been brought up, Drinkin' cause you're lookin so good in your starbucks cup..."). 

The chorus represents someone saying goodbye to the one that he loves. He is constantly thinking of her and wondering where she is at that very moment. He says, "If the plane goes down, I'll remember where the love was found..." saying that, if the plane goes down, he knows that he loved her. 

The second verse goes into their past 24 hours and how he wishes she could be with him right then and there (Damn, I should be so lucky, Even only 24 hours under your touch, You know I need you so much, I cannot wait to call you, And tell you that I landed somewhere, And hand you a square of the airport..."). He is proud to have known her and he feels she has done so much in establishing who he is today. She has changed him for the better. 

The third verse, which becomes quiet from the previous chorus, expresses his love for her even more. It seems to be more intimate and revealing ("Flax seeds, well they tear me open, And supposedly you can crawl right through me, Taste these teeth please, And undress me from the sweaters better hurry, Cause I'm heating upward bound now, Oh maybe I'll build my house on your cloud.) 

The repetition of all the lines at the end represents his passion for her and how much he means the words that he is saying. He is sick of working and leaving her all the time, but it needs to get done he doesn't want to offend her for doing so.

Virtual Feeling:

This piece evokes the following feelings, in order: 

- fatigue

- discouraged

- paralyzed

- empty 

- despair

- restless

- tortured (emotionally) 

- pained 

- mournful 

- angst

- understanding 

- sympathetic 

- absorbed

- quiet 

- acceptance 

Onto-Historical World: 

Mraz's onto-historical world is centered in the 2000s, in an age where we are always on the move and never have a moment to catch our breath. He wrote this song in response to him being only able to spend 24 hours with the woman he loved, because he needed to get back on a plane to continue his tour. He talks about the influence travel has on us and how we get through the intense process. Since September 11, 2001, travel has become even more difficult what with all the of the security regulations and the amount of time spent as we waste our time standing in lines, instead of being with the people we love.

Open Listening #2: 

The entire piece is a testament to those who always have to leave behind a loved one in order to pursue their dreams. Yes, the 24 hours they spend together are fantastic but as soon as its over, you just want to relive the experience all over again. Getting on a plane is seen as a metaphor; a plane is like a relationship, a strong one stays up in the sky and flies, whereas a weak one falls and crashes. Morbid is may seem, it is true. There may be some turbulance along the way, but if the relationship, like a plane, is strong and gets to its destination, it has survived one more day. The song may be somewhat depressing, but it has a sense of hope and acceptance to it. 

Performance Guide: 

In my opinion, Mraz does a fantastic job in performing this piece. In an interview, he says that the song started out very dark and sad, but once he practiced it a bit and brought it on the tour, he put more energy into it and made it more positive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flu6o3ag9Lg). He starts out very quiet and slow, almost as if he is in a daze. If seen in concert, I bet the lighting would influence the piece a lot and the way Mraz performs it. The darker the lighting, the darker the mood would be on stage. However, as the song continues, the sound grows until he is almost throwing himself and the message towards the  audience. It's a very powerful song that is sung with such passion and heart, almost as if the person performing the piece should go through what the song says in order to really perform it to the fullest. 

Meta-Critique: 

Partaking in an eclectic analysis was not only enjoyable but very stimulating as well. It really exercised the way you thought about the song, and I discovered so many new things about it afterwards. It was difficult for me, however, to find that balance between objective and subjective information. Also, not presenting the words, "I think..." threw me off as well, as I am so used to expressing what I think and feel, being an educational theater major. Suspending biases during the open listenings were very difficult for me as I am a big Jason Mraz fan. It would be interesting, next time, to pick an artist I am not that familiar with and analyze one of their songs. However, in the end, I thought it was a very enjoyable experience and one takes what they want away from the experience in their own ways. For me, I took away a better appreciation for music analysis and the complexities that come with it. Next time, I hope to have a better understanding and be up to date on my syntactical language. Thank you!